About Me

I have spent the first half of my career
as a pastor of the church, and the second half as a teacher in the university and the church. I experience much satisfaction working in both worlds. As I engage in ongoing research to support my third activity which is writing, I am constantly finding many interesting items on the net and from friends which I edit and share on my Colleagues List. That way, you too might enjoy information from the worlds of religion and culture. As of September 2016, this profile has received almost 1,800 hits.
Thanks for your interest!
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Friday, August 28, 2015

Colleagues List, August 30th, 2015

Vol. XI. No. 4*****GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPECANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

Wayne A. Holst, EditorMy E-Mail Address:waholst@telus.netColleagues List Web Site:http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com"Quicklinks" are included with many itemsat the beginning of this issue. To get a morecomplete picture, however, scroll down tofind your special selection in the body ofthe blog.*****Dear Friends:My August 30th issue of Colleagues Listis now available. I have been waiting forthe Special Item posting of my Anglican Journal column for the month. It now appears with the title:"A Price is Paid for Justice and Human Rights"

--Ron Rolheiser (San Antonio TX) givestwo spiritual reflections:"Human Nature - Is it Somehow All Wrong?"http://tinyurl.com/prphb8w"Political Correctness - Swallowing Hard"http://tinyurl.com/p5ua3csScroll down for more publication information.*****Net Notes that appealed to me this pasttwo weeks are as follows:"Faith Ed" - What to do in a house of worship of another faith. The subject is an increasingly important one(New York Times Review of Books)http://tinyurl.com/ptl3o38--"Man of the People" - Francis and People-Powerthis article studies the revolutionary 'bottom-up'approach taken by the current pope(America Magazine Online)http://tinyurl.com/pn6pszk

"Exploring the Rockies Nearby" - I live withina one-hour drive to Banff National Park and enjoy some beautiful scenery close to Calgary (PBS, 2015)http://tinyurl.com/qdh7vyz--"Nepal - A Hindu or Secular State?" - afuture resolution to this question may lie with constitutional talks in the mountain kingdom(UCA News) http://tinyurl.com/pdtwa7t--"Palestinian Christians Demand Justice" - inthe wake of last year's war with Israel, theWest Bank Palestinians have big problems(Christian Week Online)http://tinyurl.com/nhmkflr--"Mennonite Schools Challenge Evangelicals" -traditionally, Mennonites in general have been closer to evangelicals than mainliners,but that perception needs revisiting aroundmatters pertaining to same sex issues(Christianity Today)http://tinyurl.com/ndyttms
--"Saudi Women Vote for First Time in History" -changes are coming to Arabia as women arevoting for the first time in this Islamic state(The Christian Post) http://tinyurl.com/qzbqaj3--"Taize Founder Remembered with a Renewed A Call to Ecumenism" - On the tenth anniversary of the martyrdom of Brother Roger Schutz, Taize founder, calls for renewal of the founding vision are raised (The Tablet, UK) http://tinyurl.com/nrtdczn--"How Tolkien & Lewis Revived Modern Myth-Telling" - here is a more extensive assessment on a new book on the special literary contribution of this Oxford duo already noted on CL (The Atlantic Online)http://tinyurl.com/pvlmouo*****Wisdom of the Week:- thanks to Sojourners and Bruderhof onlineAbigail Van Buren, Catherine Booth, Thomas Aquinas,Mother Teresa, John Milton, Henri J.M. Nouwen,Rachel Carson and Thich Nhat HanhScroll down to read their insights--On This Day:From the archives of the New York Times"Russia and Allies Invade Czechoslovakia"http://tinyurl.com/pgrq97s"James Meredith First 'Ol Miss' Graduate"http://tinyurl.com/np5hh7j"India and Pakistan Become Independent"http://tinyurl.com/p8tjqnf"Japan Surrenders, Ending WWII"http://tinyurl.com/pppa3ru--Closing Thought this week is by Vandana ShivaPlease scroll to the end of the blog to read this.--If you are interested --Our New Program Planning Season Begins -Autumn 2015 Adult Spiritual DevelopmentACTS Ministry Programs through St. David's United Church, Calgary.This material appears at the end of he blog.*****SPECIAL ITEMMy Anglican JournalColumn for August 2015"A Price is Paid for Justice and Human Rights"http://tinyurl.com/q92mkjf

A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.- Abigail Van Buren--If we are to better the future we must disturb the present.- Catherine Booth--The things that we love tell us what we are.

- Thomas Aquinas--The world is upside down because there is so very little love in the home. We have no time for our children; we have no time for each other; and there is no time to enjoy each other. That is why there is so much suffering and so much unhappiness in the world today. Everybody seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for what is bigger and better and greater, and mothers and fathers often do not have time for each other, let alone their children. In the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world.

- Mother Teresa--

When I consider how my light is spent,Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,And that one talent which is death to hideLodged with me useless, though my soul more bentTo serve therewith my Maker, and presentMy true account, lest He returning chide;“Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?”I fondly ask. But Patience, to preventThat murmur, soon replies, “God doth not needEither man’s work or his own gifts; who bestBear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His stateIs kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,And post o’er land and ocean without rest;They also serve who only stand and wait.”

- John Milton--Patience is not waiting passively until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest,to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient, we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later, and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.

- Henri J.M. Nouwen--A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over thechristening of all children, I should askthat her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disench-antment of later years… the alienation from the sources of our strength.- Rachel Carson--People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black,curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes.

All is a miracle.- Thich Nhat Hanh*****ON THIS DAYFrom the archives of the New York Times"Russia and Allies Invade Czechoslovakia"http://tinyurl.com/pgrq97s"James Meredith First 'Ol Miss' Graduate"http://tinyurl.com/np5hh7j"India and Pakistan Become Independent"http://tinyurl.com/p8tjqnf"Japan Surrenders, Ending WWII"http://tinyurl.com/pppa3ru*****CLOSING THOUGHT - Vandana ShivaWhenever we engage in consumption or production patterns which take more than we need, we are engaging in violence.(end)*****Our New Program Planning Season Begins -Autumn 2015 Adult Spiritual DevelopmentACTS Ministry Programs through St. David's United Church, Calgary.AUTUMN 2015 MONDAY NIGHT STUDYTheme: "Living in Darkness - Living in Light"Books: "Learning to Walk in the Dark" by Barbara Brown Taylor "Between the Dark and the Daylight" by Joan Chittisterhttp://tinyurl.com/pncmzechttp://tinyurl.com/qy9netgA ten-week study in contemporary spiritualitywith books by two prominent Protestant andCatholic writers.Ten Monday evenings, 7-9PMIn the St. David's TM RoomSeptember 21st - November 30th, 2015Books and Registration/Hospitality - $60.00Books only - $35.00Brenda and Joan will help Jock when Wayneparticipates in the "Jerusalem and the Landsof Three Great Faiths" tour (October 16th - 31st)Now into our sixteenth year of Monday Night StudiesOur thirty-first series of (usually) ten week sessions!Check our study archives for all 45 book notes:http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh*****THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDYTheme: The Book of Exodus from the Hebrew Bible "A Classic Story of Human Liberation"Twelve sessions 10-11 AMIn the St. David's TM RoomSeptember 17th - December 3rdNo charge.

"Women Contributors to the Morley Village School and Orphanage"All are welcomeJune service article, Cochrane Timeshttp://tinyurl.com/p7lohbl*****ST. DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS'SPECIAL 2015 SIXTEEN DAY TOUR